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Officio Assassinorum
For those that defy the Imperium, only the Emperor can judge your crimes. Only in death can you receive the Emperor’s judgement. –Motto of the Officio Assassinorum The Officio Assassinorum is one of the most secretive organizations in the Imperium. Its hidden Grand Master is one of the High Lords of Terra, the cabal of awesomely powerful individuals whose every decision affects untold billions of people and immense tracts of the Imperium. Only the High Lords themselves can sanction the deployment of an Imperial Assassin, fearing that their own weapons may be used against them. It is said that in the distant past, Grand Masters used assassins to further their own ends, and a reign of terror clutched even the High Lords themselves. In the anarchic Wars of Vindication, the Grand Master himself fell to the Assassin’s knife. Following these events, the Inquisition stepped in to maintain a certain level of oversight over the Officio Assassinorum with the foundation of the Ordo Sicarius. To those few who are aware of its existence, the Officio Assassinorum is often considered to be the ultimate Imperial tool of destruction and diplomacy. In an Imperium that spans an entire galaxy, there are many who believe they can defy its authority. Some simply crave independence from the Imperial Creed and the endless bureaucracy of the Adeptus Terra. Others have fallen under the domination of heretics and the foul whispers of Chaos. This is the Assassin’s battleground, to punish the misguided, the foolish, and the overly ambitious, to purge the enemies of the Emperor. Planetary Governors and Imperial Commanders across the Imperium must understand that abuse of their power is not tolerated, and results in the justice of sword, venom, and gunfire. Some may be able to avoid the Judges of the Adeptus Arbites, flee the wrath of the Adeptus Astartes, or hide from the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, but very few indeed escape the vengeance of an Imperial Assassin. 'The Assassin Temples' Imperial Assassins of the Officio Assassinorum are indoctrinated into one of many secret Temples. Each Temple approaches the art of death in its own unique style, and each trains its assassins to use highly specialized wargear and techniques to carry out missions of murder. Four of the most prominent Temples are summarized below: Vindicare: Assassins from the Vindicare Temple specialize in the arts of stealth and killing from long range. Marksmen without peer, Vindicare Assassins bring inglorious death to the Emperor’s foes with a sniper’s precision. Callidus: The most subtle of the Assassin Temples, Callidus Assassins utilize the shape-altering drug known as polymorphine to adopt a nearly-impenetrable disguise. The Callidus Assassin is a living weapon, often dropped behind enemy lines to assassinate a particular individual and take his place. Often, the misinformation they sow is just as effective as their more lethal arts. Eversor: The Eversor Temple specializes in shock and terror tactics, and its Assassins are instruments of brutal destruction. Eversor Assassins are engineered to become superhuman killing machines with advanced bionic, genetic, and chemical augmentations. In addition, the Assassin’s mind is focused entirely upon the annihilation of his targets with psycho-conditioning techniques and a vast array of combat drugs, turning him into a nearly unstoppable killing machine. These hyper-aggressive killers are carefully stored in cryo-suspension between each mission. Culexus: Among the most sinister of the Assassin Temples, the Culexus Assassins are usually deployed to destroy enemy psykers, sorcerers, and others who rely upon warp-tainted powers. The Culexus Temple takes in Untouchables, beings who have a null psychic signature in the warp and are therefore antithetical to psykers and their strange abilities. These killers are soulless, horrifying creatures that are closely observed and controlled by the Temple. 'Unique Equipment' Ars Imperialis Mortua (Instant/–30/Lethal) An Officio Assassinorum signature poison, Mortua is very rare, hard to trace and highly valuable. The “grey death” as it sometimes known, is quick enough to kill its victims mid-word while speaking; their pallor greying visibly and their eyes whitening over in the moments after their death. Cost 5,000ea, Very Rare